THE AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF PSYCH
Founded by G. STANLEY HALL in 1887.
VoL. XVI. JANUARY, I905. No. I.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DREAMS.
By JAME S RALPH JEWELL.
This study of the Psychology of Dreams is based upon
returns to a questionnaire1 sent out, principally to N
Schools, which accounts for the large proportion of fem
More than 2,000 dreams from some 800 people have been
moreover, a number of friends of the writer have kept
1 DREAMS.
State sex and age, and write on one side of paper only.
I. Ask children of each or any few grades to write a compositio
on the most remarkable dream or dreams they ever had, to tell al
about it, when it occurred and what effect it had, always stating s
present age, and how long ago the dream occurred.
II. Will the teacher or adult do the same thing and add any not
concerning the frequency of their dreams? (I.) When dreaming is
best and worst; what is done to favor or prevent dreaming, and wh
(2.) Whether any have come true. (3.) The effect on their mood an
feelings next day. (4.) Are there repeated dreams? (5.) Does season,
day of week, the month, or age have any effect ? (6.) Is there an
of dreams; if so, what? (7.) Give experiences of nightmare, flyin
floating, hovering, or smothering. (8.) If you talk in your sleep
have observed others, describe it, and what is it about and what is
said? The same of walking or any motor activity. (9.) Detail cases
where dreams were connected with preceding events. (IO.) Have they
influenced your life and how? (Ii.) Cases where a child has confused
dream life with real life. (I2.) Do dreams tend to repeat the under-
currents of emotional life rather than daily experience? Do you know
cases where cheerful people have painful dreams or vice versa? (I3.)
Can you discriminate between psychological and physical causes?
(I4.) Give temperament and physical condition.
2 The topic for this study was suggested to the writer by President
G. Stanley Hall, to whom is made glad and full acknowledgment for
constant advice and inspiration. Dr. Theodate L. Smith has also ren-
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2 JEWELL:
diaries and given them to him. So far as can be learned, no
study of dreams from such a mass of data has ever been made
before, and for this reason the literature on the subject was
made a minor matter, in an effort to arrive at whatever conclu-
sions seemed justifiable without the possible bias of previous
theories.
A mere study of the papers as answers to the questions asked
did not yield nearly so good results as did a careful examination
and comparison of the dreams given. The topics of preventing
certain dreams, equation of age and locality of the dreamer,
dreams of things which have caused deep emotions, the causes
of dreams, burglar dreams, anticipatory dreams, dreams of
death, judgment during sleep, emotion in dreams, dreams con-
fused with real life, the influence of dreams, and hypnagogic
states were those on which there was most abundant material.
As to when one's dreaming is best or worst, it has not been
possible to separate mental from physical causes; for both are
usually combined in the same answer. Comparatively few try
to favor or prevent dreaming. Some have tried to dream of
certain things by thinking of them just before and while going
to sleep, but very few say definitely that they succeed in so
doing1. A few do not eat rich food late in the evening because
they think it causes bad dreams, others do eat something rich
just before retiring to prevent bad dreams. Before giving her
pupils this questionnaire, one teacher asked them to look in-
tently at a bright object, red preferably, for some minutes be-
fore retiring, to see if it would influence their dreams, but the
results were almost wholly negative. Of course it cannot be
inferred that it is impossible to cause certain dreams, but since
suggestion seems of no avail it is manifestly improbable. Even
in hypnosis, the state of mind most like dreaming, only the be-
ginning of any certain mental content can be brought about by
suggestion,-once induced, association takes its natural course,
and repeated suggestions are necessary to direct it along de-
sired lines.
Nelson2 has advocated the theory that any certain dreams
could be prevented by going over in consciousness each dreaded
dered invaluable assistance, not only in the gathering of material, but
also by way of many suggestions, for which the writer is very grateful.
Thanks are also due to a number of teachers who collected answers to
the questionnaire sent out at the beginning of this study, among them
Miss Lillie A. Williams, Dr. Margaret Smith, Miss Harriett Marsh,
Miss Carolyn M. Robbins, Dr. W. G. Chambers, Dr. Norman Triplett;
Dr. J. H. Leuba, Dr. Oscar Chrisman, Dr. G. E. Partridge, Dr. Fred-
erick Tracy, Dr. E. F. Buchner, Prof. D. D. Hugh, Miss Grace Emilie
Taft, and Miss Margaret Pritchard.
1 Vide Stevenson, R. L.: Across the Plains, Chap. on " Dreams."
2Am. Jour. of Psy., Vol. I, pp. 376-377.
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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DREAMS. 3
dream just before falling to sleep, and saying
"There, that dream is accounted for, now I sha' n't
Such a course would probably be successful in alm
but it would be so because of the power of negativ
Any other method would probably be just as eff
believed it to be so. Three examples like Nelson
found in this material. Following in logical order comes a
mere shutting out of the mind of whatever there is reason to
fear will be the subject matter of the dreams, without any defi-
nite attempt to replace it with other thoughts. No one re-
ports having tried this with failure.
F., 20.1 There have been times in my life, after bad news or hearing
of some terrible accident, when I have prevented myself from dream-
ing of them by " thinking of nothing,"-by making my mind as empty
as possible and not thinking of what I feared.
M., I8. I can usually prevent dreaming of things either by think-
ing of something else or of " nothing."
F., 20. Many times I have banished unpleasant thoughts from my
mind in order not to dream of them and have succeeded almost every
time. At one time in my school life, when very unhappy, if I could
entirely banish the thoughts I feared dreaming of, I never dreamed of
them; if not, I would spend a horrible night. (Her teacher writes
" Two sisters and brother died of same disease, father a suicide, she
and mother frail physically. She has a fine mind, an artist, linguist,
intellectual grasp unusual.")
Others turn their thoughts resolutely away from the dreaded
subject, and fix the attention upon a totally different topic
while dropping to sleep.
F., 20. I can usually prevent myself from dreaming of anything I
do not wish by thinking of something very different, especially by
reading something interesting and thinking about that.
M., 25. I have prevented myself from dreaming unpleasant things
by thinking of something entirely unrelated to them.
Others have specific methods by which they prevent certain
dreams which are as efficacious for them as was Nelson's for
him.
M., 29. I often prevent unpleasant dreams by thinking of pleasant
things, especially by religious melody and religious devotion.
F., 18. I have been able to keep from dreaming certain horrid
dreams by counting, or by saying the letters of the alphabet.
M., I8. I have prevented the dreaming of certain dreams of an un-
pleasant nature by saying certain things when I went to sleep.
It seems to be true that just in proportion as the suggestion
is complete, in the same way will the absence of the feared
dreams be certain.
F., 21. When I began to try to prevent dreams by not thinking of
the disagreeable subjects, I failed, but I found that was because I was
really paying more attention to them. Now I think of something else,
and keep from dreaming certain things.
'F., 20, female, 20 years old; M., I8, male, i8 years old.
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